The exploration of diverse human experiences can provide valuable insights into the nature of human behavior.
Through the portrayal of human experiences, an individual can deepen their understanding of the fundamental characteristics that make us human. Within Arthur Miller’s 1952 tragedy, The Crucible, my attached visual representation, and the 2016 slam poem 'Islamophobia' performed by Elevated!, the audience is provided with new insights into a range of human experiences. Allowing for conclusions to be drawn about the nature of human behavior. The notion of the human experience explores the concept of the conscious mind and its awareness of morality. Therefore, texts that explore human experiences often contain commentary on relatable aspects of human nature or society. The Crucible, “Islamophobia” and my visual representation discuss the nature of fear and the ways in which religion is used to mask true motivations. As seen in all three texts, religion is often used as a tool with which people can be categorized, allowing for differences to be distinguished and an ‘other’ to be defined. Therefore, encouraging an individual’s irrational fear and giving it justification.
Fear is an inherent part of human nature but when validated by the collective it can quickly turn to paranoia. Miller explores this transgression of fear throughout The Crucible and allows for the audience to follow the process, providing insights into the nature of fear and the thoughts and actions that exaggerate it. Within my visual representation, I have symbolized the light of religion as a light bulb casting a misleading and false shadow that contains no substance over the lamb, a sacrificial animal representing purity and innocence. This false projection is feared by the collective eyes in the corner. The town of Salem provides security from a wild and ‘barbaric frontier’ with the foundations of Salem society being built on a fight for survival. Creating a community heavily reliant on an individual fearing the unknown. This basic instinct allows for safety as it creates an individual who is too scared to question their world and travel outside of what they know. However, this natural fear can soon turn to hysteria. This transformation is illustrated in Act 2 when Hale declares that “the Devil is alive in Salem, and we dare not quail to follow wherever the accusing finger points!”. Utilizing imperative language this statement emphasizes the complete loss of rationality and logic, with educated men confident in their fear and oblivious to how quickly they are becoming paranoid. Furthermore, with an allusion, “Until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven.”, Hale portrays how the Salemite’s fear transforms into hysteria as they no longer feel the security of the community. As there is no consistent proof of witchcraft they begin to doubt their neighbors and they no longer know the face of their fear. The deterioration of trust and loyalty within this community and the loss of all rational thought are the main catalysts for the fear felt within Salem and are what allow it to become paranoia. Throughout The Crucible Miller explores the nature of fear, providing the audience with a deeper understanding of human behaviour.
Similarly, when forced to question the reason for an irrational fear it is often found to be shrouded in prejudices. In addition to The Crucible “Islamophobia” discusses the impact of fears that are founded by preconceived ideas. Elevated! commentate on people’s reasons for fear, forcing the audience to question why so many of our irrational fears, like those surrounding an entire race or group of people, are based on another’s judgment or perception and not on our own personal experience. This message is again reinforced within my visual representation, people fear the profile that has been fitted to the lamb without question even though it has no real weighting. In the opening of the poem, they discuss the terrorist acts of white male Dylann Roof. “When Dylann Roof killed nine innocent Black People, we did not question his God, he wore flags of apartheid Africa, we did not question his allegiance, he committed the crime alone, we did not question his people.”. Due to the truncated sentences, the rhythm of the poem increases as the speakers list the ways in which a white male was treated differently by society, adding to the emotive impact of this verse. It demonstrates how when there is no collective fear, or the accused is not considered an ‘other’ how differently they get treated and therefore highlights how fear is so intertwined with the prejudices of society. Much like The Crucible “Islamophobia” highlights how often we just adopt the collective’s fear without question and it takes texts that represent certain experiences to break this toxic cycle that can only lead to mass hysteria and persecution.
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When religion is corrupted by power it often becomes a mask for fulfilling one’s personal desires. Through its allegory form Miller aims to express a moral lesson by using the Salem witch trials as a metaphor for his own context, the McCarthy ‘witch trials’. Within his authorial intrusions, Miller makes direct links between the impacts of a corrupted government of his society and the theocratic one within Salem and allows the audience to pick up on the nuances of these shared human experiences. In his opening overture he states that organizations are formed to prevent ‘destruction by material or ideological enemies’ however, all organizations inevitably ‘must be grounded on the idea of exclusion and prohibition’. This thought is seen within 1950 America and Salem through the court's manipulation of the people’s fear to maintain control. Religious hypocrisy is represented within Salem through the characterization of Reverend Parris. Although Salem is a theocratic society and therefore Parris is of high authority and expected to be greatly affiliated with God, Parris is instead materialistic and self-centered. Able to disguise his true selfish motivations through the mask of religion. As seen in Act I, when the rumors of the supernatural are first taking place, Parris shows his lack of spirituality and impetus to lead his people claiming, in a moment of need, that “Now I am undone…They will topple me with this!”. The repeated use of personal pronouns highlights Parris’s selfish nature revealing his true motivations and his lack of care for his people. Parris’s characterization throughout The Crucible is reflective of those in positions of authority during Miller’s time, providing an insight into how people use corrupted authority or power, in this case, religion, as a tool with which to fulfill their own personal desires.
In conjunction, “Islamophobia” reveals how religion is often used to categorize someone, forcing them to be either accepted or excluded. It illustrates that not all corruption is based on an individual fulfilling their personal motives but can also be corrupted by fear. “Islamophobia” forces the audience to see past an individual’s religion and to realize that we are all human and therefore there should be no categories based on race, religion, or gender. It urges that your choice in religion does not change human nature and therefore we should all be treated as human. “Instead of burning down the mosque, burn down the walls around the pulsating muscle in your chest, and realize that we all have one”. Using a metaphor, a comparison is drawn between the literal act of burning a mosque to metaphorically burning down the walls of your heart further emphasizing the importance of gaining an understanding of someone’s experience and using that in your own personal reflection to better your knowledge of human nature. Furthermore, “Islamophobia,” asks the audience several listed rhetorical questions, actively engaging them with the poem. “Do you see it? How we don’t have to condemn a whole class of people based on the actions of some? Do you see it? How all the names are different, how all the faces are different, how all the people are different,”. Within this excerpt repetition and anaphora are utilized to not only reinforce the main message and purpose of the poem but to also force the audience to sit there and ask themselves if they really do ‘see it’. This self-reflection is what permits the viewer to build valuable insights about the text and its message. Through the combined analysis of both The Crucible and “Islamophobia” it portrays how when corrupted by both fear and personal desires religion becomes the tool with which to persecute the ‘other’. The corrupt religion focuses on twisted perceptions to make a monster out of something that is even there, as explored in my visual representation.
The representations of human experiences allow individuals to reflect on their own values and beliefs and deepen their understanding of human nature. Through the analysis of The Crucible, “Islamophobia” and my visual representation of the nature of corrupted authority and religion are explored, highlighting how they twist the collective’s view of an individual into something that contains no proof or actual substance, categorizing them as the ‘other’ and validating irrational fears.
Word count: 1497
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